AI-SOLUTIONS: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL ECOSYSTEMS

At a business meeting held at Kozybayev University on the timely topic of artificial intelligence and the development of regional ecosystems, leaders of major enterprises and representatives of government bodies gathered.

This format of meetings enables the exchange of ideas, fosters direct dialogue, and creates networking opportunities between businesses, the IT community, and the university on issues that already require scientific and technological solutions.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized the importance of preparing a new generation of domestic engineers, researchers, and entrepreneurs capable of creating cutting-edge technologies that meet modern global needs. For this reason, the development of AI and digital technologies has indeed become a national priority for Kazakhstan.

“In this academic year, Kozybayev University is graduating about 160 students in IT specialties. Of these, 20 are enrolled in dual-degree programs and are currently studying in Arizona. They will return with new competencies, and we need to retain them in the region. Additionally, we are ready to provide enterprises with our students under dual-education arrangements. This approach addresses several objectives at once: practice-oriented training, securing future employment, providing students with a salary, and developing research projects within organizations,” said the Chairman of the Executive Board – Rector Yerbol Issakaev.

The university has also redirected the focus of diploma projects to incorporate AI and address regional needs. One example is a project carried out in collaboration with Raduga KDR on developing automatic defect detection in products using production data and machine learning. This is where students will demonstrate their ability to analyze, forecast, and automate processes.

In addition, the North Kazakhstan Region is becoming a key area for the implementation of the AI-Sana program and the development of a local AI ecosystem, with Kozybayev University serving as the intellectual hub of the region.

“Kozybayev University was the first university in the country to achieve a 100% completion rate of AI courses on platforms such as Huawei, Astana Hub, and Coursera. This means that, at present, all our students possess foundational AI skills,” noted Gulnara Kim, Acting Director of the Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies Center.

As part of the AI-Sana program, Kozybayev University has developed AI agents to support education, the economy, and the social sector:

-  Behavioral Scoring Model – designed to detect potential fraud in financial organizations, optimizing the work of managers;

- “CheckDoc” – an online doctor agent for patient support and preliminary diagnostics;

- Anti-Corruption Bot – serves a compliance function, answering questions related to corruption;

- AI Agent for Public Transport Optimization – optimizes transport routes;

- “UniExpert” – an agent for working with the university’s regulatory documents, providing quick access to institutional records.

Based at the AI and Digital Technologies Center, Kozybayev University is launching KU ML SCHOOL, a practical, offline program for mastering web programming and neural network integration. It targets university students, college students, and high schoolers. The program culminates in the creation of participants’ own intelligent applications.

At the event, student developers also presented their products. Nikon Veremeichik and Rustem Imangazin spoke about the AI AntiFrod Agent, while Danial Abuov presented the MyNKU application, which has been successfully implemented at the university.

Aslan Ilyasov, Head of the City Housing Inspection Department, reported on a joint development project for creating a digital platform:

“Like any modern city, Petropavlovsk faces the need to optimize the management processes of multi-apartment residential buildings. Currently, the exchange of information between residents, POA chairpersons, and local government employees often occurs in an unsystematic way, causing delays, misunderstandings, and, consequently, lowering the quality of housing services. This is why we initiated the creation of a mobile application designed to fundamentally simplify this process. We see this project not just as a development effort, but as a contribution to improving citizens’ lives and increasing the efficiency of our inspection department,” said Aslan Ilyasov.

Business representatives also shared the technical IT needs of their enterprises. The challenges that university research can address must be resolved through joint efforts. For our students, this provides valuable hands-on experience, and for the region, it creates a new development vector. After all, the formation of regional ecosystems is impossible without the synergy of three elements: science, business, and government administration. It is within our power to identify and leverage these points of intersection.